On the streets of Houston, TX there are beds of lust and illicit action that takes place within various communities. Different cities have designated areas where prostitutes do business to make money for drugs. Various crimes take place in these areas and many people are jailed, contract venereal diseases and are sexually abused during the process. Some people are even raped, tortured and held against their will to make this industry thrive. The state of Texas is a leading region where prostitution thrives. A good Houston criminal defense lawyer will always have people walking into their law firm with criminal cases involving sex on the Harris County court docket.

The Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer

A Necessary Check & Balance

Jack B. Carroll, a respected Houston criminal defense lawyer is in a profession that requires him to protect criminals in sexual rape cases try to get them reduced sentences; that’s if they’re guilty. The law demands that people have the right to legal defense. However, sex crimes are punished by those in the penal system who usually detest this type of behavior. On the streets of Houston, prostitutes roam around looking for clients. They will sell their bodies to gain money for their pimps or to pay the local drug dealer. The heroin dealer is now the new pimp of this era. He loves his prostitutes because they help to fuel his business and new recruits.

Child Molestation & Child Pornography

Some lowlifes roam the streets looking for young kids to molest. This is a sickening thing that happens in Texas and all over the nation. Possession of child pornography is a crime that quite a few people indulge in. They often look for kids on the streets to gain new souls to exploit. They make films and movies about molesting and abusing kids. They then upload this sickening material to places such as the Dark Web. People buy this garbage with cryptocurrencies and view the disgusting acts. Federal charges have been leveled against thousands of people for this kind of behavior.

Prostitution in Houston, TX

The perversion that takes place on the back roads, alleys and behind closed doors in Texas must be confronted. The case of Elizabeth Wandell is living proof of this truth. Elizabeth Wandell is from the Baytown Area and she is a known prostitute that works the streets to support her drug habit. During her time on the streets she has seen young teenage girls turned out for drugs.

She has witnessed brutal rapes by multiple assailants on one person and she has experienced brutality by demented people she had sexual encounters with for money. Wandell tried to escape her disturbing life, but her drug addiction keeps her deeply involved. She is fighting this issue with everything she has but the pull of drugs on her soul is hard to stop. This is another example about the people whose lives are being ripped apart by drugs, sex, child pornography and prostitution. Thankfully, there are people and organizations who provide hope for women like Wandell. Maybe one day, she will make it out of this lifestyle. Otherwise, a top Houston criminal defense attorney will need to be on call.

Charges for crimes and their related penalties vary in Texas depending on the defendant’s history and nature of the crime. The State of Texas is among other US States that have the determinate sentencing system in place. This sentencing system allows them to formulate sentencing guidelines that determine the type of sentencing an offender will receive for a particular crime. The sentencing levels that apply to Texas include Class C misdemeanor, Class B misdemeanor, Class A misdemeanor, State Jail felony, Third Degree felony, First Degree felony and Capital felony in ascending order.

Texas Misdemeanor Offenses

Class C Misdemeanors

Ranked as the lowest level of criminal offenses by the Texas law, Class C misdemeanors attract a fine of a maximum of $500. The offenders don’t face any jail term. However, they go through court trials in a Justice of the Peace Court, Traffic Court or Municipal Court. Examples of these misdemeanors include disorderly conduct, gambling and traffic citations.

Class B Misdemeanors

An offender found guilty of committing crimes classified under Class B misdemeanors can pay a fine of not more than $2,000. The offender may also face 180 days of sentencing in a county jail. Crimes that attract these penalties are prostitution, harassment, DUI and possession of not more than 2 ounces of marijuana.

Class A Misdemeanors

Considered as the worst type of misdemeanor, a Class A misdemeanor offender can pay a fine of about $4,000. The offender can also face up to 2 years of probation. Crimes that attract these penalties include theft of a check, resisting arrest and possession of 2 to 4 ounces of marijuana.

Texas Felony Crimes

Unlike the misdemeanor offenses, felonies are the most serious criminal offenses. Felony crimes in Texas fall into four categories. They include State Jail felony, Third Degree felony, First Degree felony and Capital felony.

State Jail Felony

This state criminal offense attracts a fine of up to $2,000 and sentencing of a minimum of 180 days. The Texas Penal Code Sec. 12.44 states that the court may reduce the penalties associated to this type of crime. Its common examples include forging a check, credit card abuse and cruelty to animals.

Third Degree Felony

Third degree felonies attract a prison time of 2 to 10 years. Offenders also get to undergo probation or pay a fine of $10,000. Examples of Third Degree felonies include stalking, deadly conduct with a firearm and tampering with evidence.

Second Degree Felony

This type of felony attracts a fine of not more than $10,000 and prison time of 2 to 20 years. Offenders may also go through probation depending with the court ruling. Examples of Second Degree felonies include indecent contact with a child, cocaine possession, human trafficking and robbery.

First Degree Felony

First degree felony offenders face prison time of 5 to 99 years or pay a maximum fine of $10,000. They also get possible community supervision (also known as probation). Common examples of the felony include attempted capital murder, causing a serious bodily injury and aggravated kidnapping.

Capital Felony

Ranked as the worst criminal offenses, capital felonies in Texas can attract life imprisonment or death. They include premeditated capital murder, genocide and espionage. Treason, death resulting from aircraft hijacking and murder with special circumstances also fall under capital felonies.

Under the Texas Law, driving while intoxicated by alcohol or drugs is a criminal offense that attracts serious legal consequences. In some instances, drivers might be arrested for a DWI charge even when their BAC (blood alcohol concentration) is below the limit defined by law as ‘’intoxicated.’’

Attorney Tad A. Nelson, an experienced DWI lawyer in Houston, has successfully defended people who were both innocent and guilty of their offenses. If you’re looking for a Houston DWI Attorney that knows the best method to beat allegations of Driving While Intoxicated, call 713-489-7373 as soon as possible.

While drugged or drunk driving is illegal across the entire country, every state has particular laws that not only define an offense but also highlight its associated legal penalties. In the state of Texas, the Texas Penal Code Title 10, Chapter 49 houses the general drunk driving laws.

Felony Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) in Texas

Under the Texas Penal Code, there are four types of felony DWI. Here they are:

DWI Third

This is the most common felony DWI in the state. It’s a new DWI charge with 2 prior convictions. Initially, it used to be the law in the state if 10 years passed from the date of last DWI conviction. Authorities used to treat it as a DWI first. Afterwards, the legislative arm of government made it 10 years from when a person is released from parole, probation, or confinement.

Most recently, the law abolished the ten-year requirement. Any prior DWIs are now usable for enhancement.

DWI with Child Passenger

This is the latest type of felony DWI charge listed in the Penal Code’s DWI Chapter at Section 49.045. The statute elevates 1st DWI charge to the same level as State Jail Felony that is if there’s a child below the age of 15 years in the car. Often, the state has similar problems proving intoxication just like they would in ‘’regular’’ DWI charges. Nonetheless, rarely substantive issues concerning the age of a passenger exist. Of great importance to note is that no prior convictions are necessary for such to be prosecuted as a felony.

Intoxication Assault

Intoxication Assault, according to Section 49.07, refers to an additional element by a defendant by mistake or accident, and by reason of, causes serious bodily harm to another person. The 3 basic defenses here are:

Intoxication didn’t cause the accident or injury,

The injury doesn’t fall into the legal classification of ‘’serious bodily injury,’’

The Defendant wasn’t intoxicated

Intoxication Manslaughter

This is the 4th and final type of felony under the Texas DWI laws. It’s almost the same as the previous felony only that this one causes death rather than serious bodily harm. The good thing is that it’s the least common kind of DWI charge. Both Manslaughter and Assault cases normally entail forced blood draws. Therefore, they’re more challenging to defend compared to other cases. While not unassailable, blood test over 0.8 are more dependable compared to breath tests from an intoxilyzer.

The differences between a DWI felony and a DWI misdemeanor in Texas

DWI charge as a misdemeanor

Plenty of factors can contribute to the jail time, fines, and charges of a DWI conviction. Nevertheless, most 1st and 2nd offense DWI charges result in misdemeanor with various classifications. For example, a 1st offence DWI charge normally results in a Class B misdemeanor that attracts a maximum punishment of 6 months in jail together with a fine of $2000 for a 1st time offender. A 2nd offence DWI charge usually results in Class A misdemeanor that attracts a punishment of upto 1 year in Jail as well as a fine of upto $4000 if you’re a second time offender.

DWI charge as a felony

Your DWI charge might turn out to be a felony conviction in several instances. In Texas, if you’ve been convicted previously of a DWI for two times before, your 3rd DWI arrest might be charged as a 3rd degree felony.

The other circumstance that’s considered a 3rd-degree felony regardless of whether it’s your 1st or 3rd DWI is the intoxication assault of a non-fatal accident whereby someone is disfigured or hurt seriously by a drunk driver. Intoxication manslaughter – an accident which a drunk driver kills someone – might result in a 2nd degree felony.

Nonetheless, the various restrictions and charges that come with a felony punishment in this state can be confusing and complex. Consequently, it’s prudent to hire an experienced, reputable and knowledgeable DWI attorney in Texas to assist you get the least punishment.

In Texas, there are two types of assault cases, namely assault and aggravated assault. Both of these are criminal activities punishable by law. For a case to qualify as only an assault, one has to do any of the following activities:

Intentionally causing bodily harm to the victim

Intentionally threatening to harm another person physically

A case qualifies to be an aggravated assault if one:

Injures the victim badly

Uses a deadly weapon to cause harm to the victim

Aggravated assaults carry more and hefty penalties as compared to simple assaults such as threats.

The Tom Gregory Case

In December 2006, Gregory was charged with physically assaulting his girlfriend Natasha. It started with an intense argument and after sometime, it went to exchange of abusive words. According to Gregory, he unwillingly slapped his girlfriend severally and banged her head on the door. Though she was not badly injured, Natasha sued Gregory for an aggravated assault.

During his trial, Gregory hired a criminal defense lawyer who could help him shake off the charges. In his defense, Gregory’s lawyer claimed that Natasha provoked his client’s feelings and both of them were in the wrong. It was therefore uncouth for the court to charge his client with aggravated assault while the victim was not badly injured.

In the ruling, the judge decided that the case was a simple assault. Gregory was sentenced to one year of community service and had a restraining order against physically contacting Natasha again. Gregory had to attend anger management classes too.

Conclusion

Assault cases are rampant in Texas. However, how bad the assaults are will determine the penalty you will face. Assaults can be verbal too, though most go unreported because they are hard to prove. On the other hand, hiring a qualified and professional lawyer for your defense would be a wise decision in case you are convicted

One reason is that with experience, things get easier. This holds true for private investigators as well as anyone else. If a PI has done several cases in a certain area. he learns how to carry out that type of investigation more easily. He also makes contacts that are able to help in future cases. Often, he’ll get referrals if a client is pleased with his work.

Specialties

So what specialties are there in the field of private investigation?

Public Records and Witness Interviews

One area is depositions and public records searches. By nature, a PI is good at analyzing data. This is why public record searches suit him well. He can pour through records and see how it ties into a case. He knows what type of information his client wants and is adept at obtaining it. He’s also good at “reading” people. This makes him a valuable asset in interviewing witnesses. A witness is more likely to share information with a PI than with a lawyer. Also, an investigator intuitively knows how to question the friends, neighbors, and business associates of a person in question.

The Internet

A private investigator is also good at digital research. With Internet access so easy now, PIs have learned to use it to full advantage. Often he can find valuable information or clues about the case from social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and such sites. People actually leave a digital trail and a good investigator can find out about love interests, incriminating alliances, assets that aren’t supposed to exist, and a hint of monetary gain that’s hidden. This is a less suspicious way to gather information than surveillance, as it is unlikely that the target will ever know he’s being tracked, whereas it’s much more likely that someone being followed may suspect this and alter the normal routine to throw off anyone doing so. The FTI Consulting Technology practice is a company that offers clients software, services, and consulting support to help streamline procedures that are often prone to the risk of discovery.

Gradoni & Associates

Surveillance

This is an area that people associate with PIs, as it has been featured in movies for a long while. While not the only skill that he has, one has to do some of this with acumen. In the case of a cheating spouse or dealer of illegal goods, this is sometimes a must.

Insurance Fraud

Insurance fraud is rampant and insurance companies aren’t happy about paying out at any rate, especially if the claim is questionable. Actually, disability insurance claims are often routinely investigated. Although a company may approve a claim, they may very well send out a private investigator to keep surveillance for a period of time. Some companies will use even mundane events as evidence that you’re disabled even though the disability may be due to a condition that doesn’t limit all of your activity.

In the case of an automobile accident, an investigator has a wealth of knowledge about how to find those who have witnessed the accident, although this isn’t an easy task.

Why Hire a Private Investigator

Insurance companies have many employees. They have different jobs. When it comes to a questionable claim, it’s less costly to hire an investigator than to have an employee do this type of work. The investigation will undoubtedly take a lot of time and rather than pay an employee for all those hours as well as the benefits, it’ll cost less to have someone do it for a specific fee.

An attorney’s office usually has a limited number of employees and they need to spend their work time uncovering the technicalities of the law and appearing in court, as well as dealing with clients. It’s to their advantage to hire a private investigator to do what he does best – dig up the facts.